North’s delegates: we aren’t being lobbied to back new constitution

Northern delegates to the National Conference have denied being lobbied by the conference secretariat – at the instance of the Presidency – to support a new constitution.

The spokesman of the Northern Delegates’ Forum, Anthony Sani, in a statement yesterday in Kaduna, titled: Re-Confab Secretariat Lobbies Northern Delegates, said there is no wisdom in lobbying for a new constitution when its amendment does not fall within the purview of the National Conference.

A national daily had reported on Monday that the conference secretariat was lobbying the Northern delegates to support a new constitution.

Denying the report, Sani said the constitution was being challenged, not because it lacks soundness but because the military and the elected constituent assemblies that brought it about did not to represent the people.

The statement reads: “When one reads reports that the confab is being lobbied to accept the idea of a new constitution from deliberations of the confab, and that the lobby is at the instance of the Presidency, it is baffling.

“Stunning (it is) in the sense that Mr President, in his inaugural speech, accepted that the current constitution does not have the provision to replace itself with a new one. He then said the starting point would be to amend the current constitution to accommodate a referendum.

“But the amendment of the constitution is not within the purview of the confab but that of the National and state assemblies. So, we do not see the wisdom of lobbying the Northern delegates. The most appropriate place to go and do the lobby is the National and state Assemblies.

“As to the import of the conference making a new constitution, we wish to say that the current constitution is being challenged, not on lack of its soundness, but because the military and the elected constituent assemblies that brought it about are said not to represent the people of Nigeria.

“Where that has been the premise for the clamouring for a new one, it would be contradictory for selected delegates by the Presidency to bring about the new constitution.

“In any case, this idea of a referendum is not appealing, because the level of education of most Nigerians has not reached where most Nigerians can make informed decisions on constitutional matters. Any constitution by the so-called referendum would still be by the elite for the elite, and that would be most unfair. But if the legislatures will amend the constitution to accommodate a referendum, we cannot prevent them in a democracy.

“Those who advocate for the scrapping of the 774 local governments ignore the important fact that the local governments are the closest to majority of the people who see our democracy through what they see in the local governments.

“And that may explain the outcry against the manner state governors streamline their autonomy and effective administration; that is why there is opposition to making the creation of local governments exclusive preserve of state government; that is why there is opposition to stopping federal allocations to local governments.

“Rather, most Nigerians prefer more autonomy to the local government to enable them deliver on the promise of democratic dividend. That is why Sections Seven and Eight of the constitution promote the idea of the whole country being involved in the creation of the local government as a condition to merit allocations from the Federation Account and the basis of distribution of patronages, including the delegates to party conventions.

“The issue of an additional state for the Southeast, purely on the basis of equality, ignores the fact that equality is not one and the same thing with equity. That may explain why Aristotle said injustice is not only when equals are treated unequally but also when unequals are treated equally.

“States are created to take care of human beings. And when it comes to population and land mass, it is morally preposterous to regard the Southeast and the Northwest as equals. People forget the fact that the former Eastern Nigeria is today nine states while the former Western Region is today eight states.

“The North, with more population than the South, is just 19 states. People should not redefine the truth and justice. So, if states are to be created, it should not be on the basis of equality alone but all other factors must be considered.”

On resource control, Sani said: “While (we are) not opposed to derivation principles to compensate for degradation of environment and reward for efforts, (we maintain that) derivation should not make some parts of the country live on cutting edge while some others live on the knife edge of survival.

“I believe we must take the concept of nationhood into account in our agitations for what we consider due and payable to us. This is because we cannot afford to live as if we are in different continents instead of one country. Bridging the gap in incomes to reduce inequality is not just good politics but good economics as well.

“We have made the point that a single tenure for the President and governors would remove the motivation and incentives for working hard. If all good and feckless leaders are corralled into the same group without any reward for the performing ones, the only incentives left would be the pillage of the commonwealth by leaders. That is why most nations practise multiple tenures so that performing President and governors would be rewarded with re-election.

“If the clamour is to remove abuse of power of incumbency, it is to be noted that many countries device their own means on how to reduce the tendency to abuse power of incumbency.

“For example, Chile allows multiple tenures that is not consecutive, by preventing a President to conduct an election in which he is a candidate. And that was why President Michell of Chile could not contest as an incumbent, despite her immense popularity. She came back to contest when she was not the President, and she won.

“In the case of Bangladesh, there is a care taker government that conducts election. So, let Nigeria devise a way of reducing abuse of incumbency instead of using its fear of incumbency to adopt a single tenure of six years that will be counter-productive.

“We do not believe in the wisdom of fear of today’s challenges to redefine our national agenda, believing that if we work hard, we shall overcome and make Nigeria feel young again with the promise of glorious days ahead.

“We also believe that what can discourage politics of power shift, rotation and zoning is for our leaders at all levels not to encourage their concomitant motive that access to state and national resources should be turn by turn.

“We wish to appeal to Nigerian voters to make judicious use of their democratic rights and ensure that their votes count so that the ensuing leaders at all levels will be accountable and strive to deliver on the promise of democratic dividend by making poverty, unemployment, ignorance and disease history. We must also note that in many instances, the emergence of feckless leaders at all levels is helped by those who do not come out to vote.”